POET Biorefining – Cloverdale Assembles Grain-Buying Team

Staff Report

POET Biorefining, located near Cloverdale, was purchased on June 29, 2010. The 90 million gallon per year facility was previously operated by Altra Biofuels. ( SEW File Photo) POET Biorefining – Cloverdale has announced the key members of its grain buying team who will work with the region’s corn producers to purchase over 31 million bushels annually for the plant.

Martin Rhodes, commodity manager, will supervise the buying, delivering and storing of all of the corn used by the plant. Rhodes worked for 20 years as a grain merchant for a dry corn mill in Illinois. More recently, he worked as an investment executive and commodity manager before joining POET. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Indiana State University.

Brady Stockwell, grain buyer, is an Indiana native who will work directly with producers to procure grain and provide support to local farmers. Prior to joining POET, he worked as a Seed Dealer for several years. Stockwell earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Agribusiness Management from Eastern Kentucky University.

Jason Corya, grain buyer, is also a native of Indiana looking forward to serving local corn producers and ensuring quality customer service at the plant. Corya holds a Bachelor of Animal Science in Animal Agribusiness from Purdue University and has several years of experience in the animal agriculture and nutrition.

“We have assembled a grain-buying team that will allow us to hit the ground running after our grand opening in March,” General Manager Dave Brooks said. “Martin, Brady and Jason are already working hard to ensure that we have the supply we need to start grinding corn and producing ethanol. This team has made local producers their top priority.”

POET is now completing approximately $30 million in upgrades to the 90 million gallonper year ethanol plant, including BPX, POET’s patented fermentation process that uses enzymes instead of heat, reducing energy costs. The plant also has a water recovery system and new pollution control equipment. It will employ more than 40 local team members upon startup.

POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 22-year-old company produces more than 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and nine billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from 26 production facilities nationwide. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit: http://www.poet.com.

POET Biorefining, located near Cloverdale, was purchased on June 29, 2010. The 90 million gallon per year facility was previously operated by Altra Biofuels.